Gaia
"I am the Titan Gaia, ever present mother of Earth. I have watched you become a powerful warrior, and I have been with you through all the events of your life, but I can no longer simply watch. We will help you defeat Zeus." - Gaia Greek Mythology In Greek mythology, Gaia (Γαîα) was the primal goddess personifying the earth. She was a primordial and chthonic ancient deity and was considered the Mother Goddess of all life. She was born of Chaos, arising as the everlasting foundation of the gods of Olympus. She created the god Ouranos, the starry sky, who was also her equal, to cover her, the hills, and the fruitless deep of the sea, Pontus. Together they created Oceanus, Coeus, Crius, and the Titans Hyperion and Iapetus, Theia and Rhea, Themis, Mnemosyne, and Phoebe of the golden crown, and Tethys. After them was born Cronos, the wily, youngest, and most terrible of her children, who hated his sire. In the God of War Series In the ''God of War'' series, Gaia is the narrator for all three games, but has only actually appeared in God of War II and God of War III. She is portrayed as being made of earth, covered head to toe with trees, and portly in shape. She was banished at the end of the Great War but helped Kratos in his quest for revenge. In return he set her free as well as the other Titans, beginning the second Great War with the gods. Birth and Early Days In the beginning, there was only darkness. This darkness was known as the deity Chaos. From Chaos came Nyx and together they created the world. Wishing to survey their work the Island of Creation was made where all life would begin. The first to be born was Gaia, who would become the mother of the earth. Ouranos was then created, joining with Gaia and giving birth to the first Cyclops, the Hecatonchires, and at last the Titans. Ouranos, out of disgust and hatred, imprisoned the Cyclops and Hecatonchires within Tartarus. It was because of this that Gaia grew an incredible amount of hatred for him and seek revenge. Out of anger at the imprisonment of her children Gaia asked the Titans to help overthrow Ouranos. Only Cronos accepted this task and when Ouranos went to lay with Gaia Cronos attacked his father with a stone sickle, castrating him. From the dismembered genitals came Aphrodite, goddess of love and beauty. Soon the Titans would rule the world with Cronos as their leader but had no sense of what to do until Gaia created Themis, who gave natural order to life. Great War It was prophesied that one day Cronos would also be overthrown by his children, and so he swallowed them after they were born. However, Cronos’ wife, Rhea, could not bear another loss and tricked Cronos into swallowing a stone wrapped in cloth. This baby was named Zeus, and would be raised by Gaia on her back until he came of age and decided to take revenge upon Cronos. When Zeus became an adult, he freed his brothers and sisters from the belly of Cronos and began a revolt against the Titans, starting the Great War. During this war, Gaia aided the Titans in the battle, and was eventually cast into Tartarus along with her children. ''God of War II Gaia watched Kratos rise as a Spartan general and fall as a servant of Ares. She observed his ability and the strength to destroy his enemies from the time he was born. After Kratos was betrayed and killed by Zeus, Gaia appeared in a vision before him while he was being dragged down to the Underworld by the Arms of Hades. Asking if he was a coward who accepts death, Gaia caused Kratos’ fighting spirit to be renewed and filled his mind with vengeance and hatred towards Zeus. She prophesied that Kratos was destined to change the fates of all Olympus, and guided him to the Island of Creation, where he would have to defeat the Sisters of Fate and change his fate by going back in time to when he was betrayed by Zeus. After Kratos was told by the Last Spartan that his beloved city had fallen at the hands of Zeus, Kratos lost all hope. Gaia appeared once again in a vision while Kratos fought the Kraken, this time as his wife. She told Kratos that there would be no eternal rest for him even in the afterlife. Zeus would see to it that his soul be tortured by Hades for the all of time. Once again his fighting spirit was renewed, and Kratos destroyed the Kraken using the fires of the burned Sparta itself. Using the Threads of Fate, Kratos traveled back in time to the final minutes of the Great War. He was greeted by Gaia, who revealed that she had been expecting him (it's unknown how she knew who he was and that he was coming but she may have asked the sisters, or Gaia is simply omniscient). Gaia informs Kratos that even with his help, they still can't defeat the Gods, but he tells that they can win in his time. Using the power of time, Kratos saved the Titans from being banished to Tartarus and took them back to his time. With the full power of the Titans on his side and the Blade of Olympus, Kratos climbed Mount Olympus on the back of Gaia, beginning the second Great War. God of War III ''"Listen carefully Kratos, you were a simple pawn, nothing more, Zeus is no longer your concern, this is our war, not yours!" - ''Gaia In God of War III, Gaia will serve as an ally and Kratos will be able to scale her body and explore it like an environment. She will also play a role in Kratos' battle against Zeus and will be attacked by Poseidon and his Leviathans. During her acension up Mount Olympus, several of Poseidon's Leviathans attack Gaia, forcing Kratos to defend her. The beasts vicously drill giant holes in Gaia, including one that led to Gaia's heart, which Kratos follows a retreating Leviathan down. Despite injured, Gaia aids Kratos in killing Poseidon by pinning the Sea God to the mountian, allowing Kratos to deal crippling blows. After Poseidon's death, Kratos and Gaia continue to Zeus, but when Zeus attacks them with a lightning bolt, Gaia and Kratos falls a great distance off Olympus. Gripping Mount Olympus for dear life, one of Gaia's hands partially snaps off, held on weakly by enormous vines. Kratos attempts to hold on to Gaia's back, but after calling for aid, Gaia refuses. Stating that both of them would die if she tried to help, and trivialising Kratos' revenge as being secondary to the Titan's, Gaia lets Kratos fall, believing him a pawn that had lost its usefullness. When Kratos reaches the city of Olympia again, Gaia is seen in distress and asks Kratos for his help. Kratos, enraged that Gaia did not help him, retorts that it was in fact Gaia and the Titans that were the pawns, ''his pawns. Kratos then procedes to sever the vines connecting Gaia's snapped-off hand with the Blade of Olympus, sending Gaia to her apparent death. When Kratos encounters Cronos, the latter states that Gaia is dead. To Kratos' shock, however, in the middle of Kratos' and Zeus' battle, Gaia, having regrown her hand, interrupts their battle. Stating that she never sought Kratos' death, but does now due to the damage he has inflicted on Gaia's Earth, she attempts to destroy both him and Zeus by crushing The Shrine of Olympus. Both father and son fall into Gaia, resuming their battle in her heart chamber until Kratos stabs Zeus with the Blade of Olympus and runs him through Gaia's Heart, killing her as her body collapses on Olympus and crumbles into dust. Gallery File:Untitledgheea.png|Gaia and several other titans in Tartarus File:Gaia_34.png|Gaia during Titanomachy File:Untitledgaia_2.png|Gaia near the top of Olympus File:Untitledgaia.png|Gaia about to slam a shrine File:Untitledgaia_1.png|Gaia climbing Olympus File:UntitledGEEEA.png|Gaia wounded by Leviathans File:Gaia_god_of_war_III.jpg|Gaias arm File:GHEAIA.png|Gaia and Kratos before their fight with Zeus File:Ghea_1.png|Kratos servering Gaia's hand as payback File:Gaia_22.png|Gaia plans to kill both Kratos and Zeus File:Gaia_1.png|"Enough! Father and Son will die together." File:Gaia_2.png|Gaia's heart File:Gaia_3.png|Kratos vs. Zeus inside of Gaia File:Gai_1a_death.png|Gaia as she starts to die File:Gaia_death.png|The death of Gaia Trivia * Gaia, serving as Narrator in all of the God of War games prior to God of War III, is voiced by actress Linda Hunt. In God of War III, no longer the narrator, she is voiced by Susan Blakeslee. However, in the opening cinematic detailing Kratos' past, Linda Hunt narrated the prologue. Also, she voiced the Oracle of Athens who cursed Kratos. * It is interesting to note, and the subject of many fans curiosity, that when Zeus and Gaia meet, Zeus states "your pawn has failed you, Gaia. Perhaps you should have tried the other one." It is left ambiguous who this "other one" is. There is speculation that it was referring to Ares since he was the one most likely to rebel against Zeus. There is also speculation that he was referring to Kratos' Brother. *Though Gaia is addressed as being one of the Titans in the God of War series, she wasn't considered one in real myth. In real Greek mythology, Gaia was essentially the Earth itself. With Uranus (essentially the Heavens) she then gave birth to the twelve Titans. Category:Characters Category:God of War 1 Characters Category:God of War 2 Characters Category:Titans Category:Immortals Category:God of War III Category:God of War 3 Characters Category:Female characters Category:Deceased characters